Rappin' pharmacy professor makes Youtube video

Tuesday

So pharmacist Gregory V. Stajich asked the 25-year-old man picking up his prescription for Coumadin if his doctor had talked to him about the blood-thinning medication.

"He said he was told much but only could remember to 'take a pill once a day,'" Stajich said.

The young man paid for the drug and left.

But the scene stuck with Stajich.

"I felt sad he didn't get the message," he said. " If you're cocky and you don't listen, it can cause you to bleed. It can cause hemorrhaging."

How can the medical community do a better job of explaining the details of serious medications in a way patients will remember?

Stajich came up with an idea.

It goes a little something like this:

"Yo dawg, ya better pay attention for sure,

Cuz there's a lot of stuff about this drug you need to procure,

Its name is Coumadin and it has many indications,

Its use is paramount in anti-coagulation."

That's the first part of a rap song Stajich wrote about Coumadin.

The South University Professor of Pharmacy Practice hopes a video he made of himself and student Josh Pendley performing the song helps patients and providers remember important details about the drug.

"I think it's a cute idea," Stajich said. "Maybe it's a way, in this day and age, to get people educated."

Rappin' RX

Stajich began planning a parody rap song about Coumadin a little more than 10 years ago while working in the outpatient pharmacy at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

There's a lot to explain about the drug. Coumadin is a brand name for the drug warfarin, which is used for patients with a history of blood clots, heart attack or irregular heart beat.

The blood-thinner can result in hemorrhaging if not taken accordingly or if taken in combination with a long list of blood-thinning drugs or foods.

"There's a lot of benefit, but it certainly has its risks," Stajich said. "That's why there are whole clinics dedicated just to that one drug."

Still, plenty of people aren't getting the information.

Stajich suspects some patients may do better to watch a video on Coumadin, especially one that entertains as well as educates.

It's a similar approach to what Stajich uses in his classroom.

The 58-year-old New York native likes to tell jokes and make up rap songs for his pharmacy students.

"I've got some great STD material," Stajich said. "I could do stand-up on that."

Flo' yo meds

Shortly after joining South University in 2008, Stajich recruited student Josh Pendley to help him tweak the lyrics and compose music for his Coumadin song.

Together, they called themselves "RxP."

Borrowing from the style of hip-hop performers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, Stajich and Pendley rap about the purpose of Coumadin, which drugs and foods to avoid and which negative reactions to watch out for.

They also drop in some jargon to appeal to medical professionals.

"We wanted to educate the patients and the providers," Pendley said. "It offers a little bit to both worlds."

In February, Stajich hired the local Silver Line Productions to shoot and edit a video. The process took about 10 hours and cost about $4,500, Stajich said.

"It wasn't like it was on my bucket list or anything. I just thought it would be fun to do," he said.

The introduction features a middle-aged hip hop fan, played by Pendley's aunt picking up her prescription for Coumadin from her pharmacist, played by another South University student. As partially animated "bobble head" characters, Stajich and Pendley rap and dance, while a local group known as the "Chief Rockaz Crew" do some break-dancing. One member in a gorilla suit occasionally pops into the scene.

A female student briefly performs a seductive dance in another scene before the gorilla character blocks the view.